Debate Rages

The debate over exactly what the next PT Cruiser should be rages on at Chrysler Group, which still hasn't settled on a platform for the next-generation model.

A PT Cruiser replacement is due in '08, according to Ward's data. But the auto maker still is trying to decide whether to base the vehicle on the C-segment platform that underpins the new Dodge Caliber-Jeep Compass/Patriot or the larger D-segment architecture that will spawn replacements for the Dodge Stratus/Chrysler Sebring due this fall.

Frank Klegon, executive vice president-product development, says either platform will work for the next-generation PT, and like the Belvidere, IL, plant that makes the C-platform vehicles and the Sterling Heights, MI, facility that will build the new D-segment cars, the PT plant in Toluca, Mexico, will be capable of building both platforms in a completely flexible volume mix.

Chrysler still has some time, Klegon says, declining to confirm the '08 model year timeframe.